Ramen boy and I ventured to Midtown West for Michelin bib gourmand ramen at Tonchin. We hadn’t tried this Tokyo-based chain while living in Japan and had missed opportunities when visiting New York. Since my son is a creature of habit and very loyal to Ippudo ramen it required some convincing to try something new this time around. We waited for about 40 minutes and then we were seated in the back of the restaurant near the open kitchen. Watching the chefs at each of their stations was mesmerizing as I ate my smoked dashi ramen filled with clams topped with pea sprouts, menma, egg, tobiko, dried seaweed in a tonkotsu broth with a drizzle of smoked fish oil. The homemade noodles were springy and al dente and the broth was deep in flavor with a slight fish essence – truly sublime. Ramen boy had a classic tonkotsu bowl with extra noodles along with some bite-size pan fried gyoza which were delicious.
The finishing touch to our meal was the kakigori. We shared the Tokyo strawberry milk shaved ice with strawberries and honey cream sauce. I could eat this for days.
TONCHIN NEW YORK
13 W 36th Street
New York City, NY 10018
(646) 692-9912